Noble Beast
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
Noble Beast is the fifth solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, and his eighth overall. It was released on January 20, 2009. Two songs from this album were previewed on his webpage; "Oh No" and "Carrion Suite", while the entire album was made available by NPR as a streaming feed. Noble Beast was made available as a standard CD release, a special limited-edition deluxe two-CD package and a double-LP package.
The track "Tenuousness" appears in the closing credits for the 2011 movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The A.V. Club | (B+) |
| Drowned in Sound | (9/10) |
| The Guardian | |
| LA Times | |
| Paste | (6.7/10) |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | |
| Pitchfork | (7.5/10) |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Skinny | |
| Spin | (7/10) |
| Uncut |
The album received a Metacritic score of 79 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 12, and No. 3 on the Top Rock Albums Albums chart, selling 26,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 150,000 copies in the United States as of December 2011[update].
Track listing
All tracks are written by Andrew Bird, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oh No" | 4:20 | |
| 2. | "Masterswarm" | 6:35 | |
| 3. | "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" | 3:36 | |
| 4. | "Effigy" | 5:06 | |
| 5. | "Tenuousness" | 3:51 | |
| 6. | "Nomenclature" | 2:54 | |
| 7. | "Ouo" | 0:20 | |
| 8. | "Not a Robot, but a Ghost" | Bird, Martin Dosh | 5:37 |
| 9. | "Unfolding Fans" | Bird, Jeremy Ylvisaker | 0:57 |
| 10. | "Anonanimal" | 4:47 | |
| 11. | "Natural Disaster" | 4:18 | |
| 12. | "The Privateers" | 3:24 | |
| 13. | "Souverian" | 7:18 | |
| 14. | "On Ho" | 1:08 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Section 8 City" (iTunes only bonus track) | 7:41 |
| 16. | "10-you-us" (iTunes pre-order only bonus track) | |
| 17. | "Take Courage" (eMusic only bonus track) | 6:51 |
Other appearances
- "Not a Robot, But a Ghost" samples from the song "First Impossible," which appears on Dosh's album Wolves and Wishes.
- "The Privateers" uses lyrics similar to "The Confession," a song appearing on Oh! The Grandeur by Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire.
- A different version of "Section 8 City" appears on Fingerlings 4.
Useless Creatures (Deluxe edition bonus disc)
The limited edition of Noble Beast shipped with a companion disc of instrumental songs, entitled Useless Creatures. This collection was made available on Bird's website in early January, before the album's release.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Master Sigh" | 2:17 |
| 2. | "You Woke Me Up!" | 7:24 |
| 3. | "Nyatiti" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "The Barn Tapes" | 10:12 |
| 5. | "Carrion Suite" | 9:39 |
| 6. | "Spinney" | 0:45 |
| 7. | "Dissent" | 3:54 |
| 8. | "Hot Math" | 7:18 |
| 9. | "Sigh Master" | 5:32 |
Personnel
- Andrew Bird – violin, vocals, whistling, guitar
- Martin Dosh – percussion, looping, keys
- Jeremy Ylvislaker – guitar, bass, organ, shortwave
- Kelly Hogan – background vocals
- Mike Lewis – clarinet
- Todd Sickafoose – double bass
- Ben Martin – cardboard box drums
- Tony Crow – juno
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 77 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 62 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 64 |
| US Billboard 200 | 12 |
| US Digital Albums (Billboard) | 2 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) | 3 |
| US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard) | 2 |